Tennis and drama—an iconic duo! Feuds on and off the court are nothing new, but this latest one is turning heads for all the spicy reasons. The ever-controversial Nick Kyrgios is at it again, keeping the rumor mills alive with his relentless digs at Jannik Sinner over the latter’s doping controversy. But wait—there’s more! Tennis insider and journalist Jon Wertheim has tossed another twist into the saga, hinting at an unexpected Anna Kalinskaya angle. Now, with Kyrgios showing no signs of backing down and Kalinskaya unwittingly pulled into the mix, it looks like this controversy is far from over.
The American journalist engaged in the latest episode of Andy Roddick’s Served with Roddick podcast as the duo deliberated on a wide range of factors. One of these discussions was about Sinner’s doping controversy. Speaking about the same, both Roddick and Wertheim took digs against Kyrgios for his continuous comments against the Italian star. Wertheim in fact went on to claim that these digs are due to Kyrgios’ past relationship with Kalinskaya, who is currently dating Sinner.
Speaking in the podcast, he said, “This is just a personal Vendetta…This is all just a personal vindictive attack against another player. I mean he just didn’t even seem to understand the doping protocols and in the context here to begin with which kind of leads me to conclude this is all just a a bad faith Vendetta against a player who’s out dating a former girlfriend and nothing more.” Roddick too, joined the conversation and shared how Kyrgios has been hypocritical of the entire issue. Now, the Australian player has himself commented taking sly digs at both Roddick and Wertheim.
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When an X-user shared the excerpts from the interview, Kyrgios did not hold himself back. Sharing his take, he wrote, “Hahaha of course – sweep sweep sweep, how is this now my fault? I couldn’t care less where sinner lays his wood 😭😂 I’m in a happy relationship 🙏🏽.” Kyrgios has been dating social media influencer Costeen Hanzi since 2021. Continuing further, he revealed the real reason behind his digs against Sinner. “I just don’t like people who are cheating the system. Roddick – never ever thought you were a sheep my guy lol,” Kyrgios added.
Remember, Kyrgios and Kalinskaya dated for a brief period in 2020. However, they soon split up and there were rumors about an unamicable end. Now, with Kyrgios taking continuous digs against Sinner, many believe that it was due to the Italian’s relationship with the Russian WTA Star. The entire controversy, meanwhile, began soon after information about Sinner’s failed doping tests came to light.
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It was revealed that Sinner tested positive twice for low levels of a metabolite of clostebol during Indian Wells. While the ITIA declared him innocent, Kyrgios had been taking sharp digs against him demanding a ban. Interestingly, he also made a comment about Anna Kalinskayta during the controversy, which drew him immense flak from the tennis community.
When Nick Kyrgios’ two-word comment sparked huge furor
Nick Kyrgios never fails to spark controversies and one such moment came over his comment on a picture of Anna Kalinskaya. The controversy first arose in September 2024, after an X user tweeted a picture of Kyrgios and Kalinskaya. Commenting on it, he wrote, “Second serve,” without explaining the phrase. However, despite his deleting the comment later, several people in the tennis community believed that it meant something vulgar.
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Commenting on the entire episode, Wertheim tweeted, “Nick Kyrgios once made a misogynistic, wildly inappropriate comment about a WTA player, drew the anger of her ATP player boyfriend, his coach, and much of the locker room…but didn’t face real consequence, dismissed, as it was, as youthful indiscretion. That was 2015. He’s 29 now.” Later, Kyrgios gave a clarification over a news report and commented, “Right… so I’m the one that’s the bad guy for saying something about it? I never brought it up lol 🤣 don’t take offence if people are gonna bring it up. Simple.” But the fans found it difficult to digest it.
Several fans and tennis insiders joined the fray taking sharp digs at Kyrgios. Now, with Wertheim linking Kalinskaya yet again, it seems that a similar controversy is in the making. Will there be more exchanges between Kyrgios and Wertheim alongside Andy Roddick? Well, that remains to be seen.